The Bulls are walking a fine line these days.
Actually, they’re tripping over that line and landing on their faces.
How many injuries can one team endure and still have enough on the court to beat lottery-bound opponents?
That’s a fair question to ask, and it’s one the Bulls don’t seem to have an answer for.
Yes, the Bulls’ training room was crowded Wednesday. Forget the news that rookie forward Noa Essengue was headed for season-ending shoulder surgery, especially because he wasn’t much of a contributor. The Bulls were, however, without guard Coby White (left calf), forward Jalen Smith (hamstring), forward Isaac Okoro (back), guard Tre Jones (ankle) and guard Kevin Huerter (groin) against the Nets and still are awaiting the season debut of center Zach Collins (left wrist).
But in a no-excuses business such as the NBA, head coach Billy Donovan still had guard Josh Giddey (playing at an All-Star level), center Nikola Vucevic, forward Matas Buzelis, guard Ayo Dosunmu and forward Patrick Williams. Those players aren’t world-beaters, but they should have been enough to beat the four-victory Nets.
The Nets, however, weren’t in a cooperating mood. Thanks to 33 points from Michael Porter Jr., they handed the Bulls (9-12) their fifth consecutive loss with a 113-103 victory.
But it’s not just the skid; it’ds also to whom the Bulls have lost. The Nets joined the cellar-dwelling Pelicans, Hornets and Pacers as teams that have manhandled the Bulls in the last 10 days.
No wonder Vucevic looked so frustrated throughout the game.
‘‘Rough game for me,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘Didn’t play very well, and the team didn’t play very well. You get down and you’re losing, frustration is going to show. I didn’t have a good game and was frustrated, mainly with myself. I wasn’t doing my job, so that’s it.’’
Vucevic finished 6-for-18 from the field for 16 points. Giddey led the Bulls with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Back it up
Not having an elite defender such as Okoro has been an obvious hole that the rest of the Bulls’ roster isn’t built to overcome, and Donovan didn’t have the best news about him, either.
Okoro has been dealing with a pinched nerve that is causing issues in his back and legs.
‘‘When he gets into certain extensions going backward, he gets pain down his leg that they’re trying to resolve,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘To be quite honest, it’s going to take time. Until they can eliminate, that it’s going to be hard for him to come back and play.’’
Shirts and skins
The Bulls have four days off next week to try and get healthy, but it’s not as simple as scrimmages and practices to whip everyone back into shape.
With two games left this week, that means a more heavy workload for players such as Vucevic, Giddey and Buzelis. They’ll need to get some rest next week, while players such White and Collins need to get in some work.
‘‘You do have players like Matas, like Vooch, like Josh and Ayo that have absorbed a lot of minutes,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘So we’ve got to come up with something for those guys. What do they need?
‘‘Then you’ve got guys like Zach Collins, maybe Isaac, different players that need some practice time. We’ve got to map that out pretty well. I don’t think we’ll have everyone together.’’